The number of persons from Latvia who have become legal permanent residents of the United States dropped last year to its lowest point in the past decade, according to recently released government statistics.

However, the latest edition of The Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, prepared by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), reveals that tourist and other non-immigrant admissions from Latvia continue to rise.

The 444 persons born in Latvia who in 2009 became legal permanent residents—also known as holders of “green cards”—continued a declining trend that began after peaking in fiscal year 2006. That year, 892 persons from Latvia became legal permanent residents.

Of those who became legal permanent residents last year, nearly 69 percent were immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Nearly 68 percent were female, according to DHS statistics. The majority, 67 percent, were 34 years old or younger.

The state with the most new green card holders from Latvia was New York, with 72 persons. California was second with 70, followed by Florida (37), Washington (34), Illinois (33), New Jersey (29), Georgia (19), Texas (17), Massachusetts (14) and Maryland (13).

Meanwhile, the number of persons from Latvia admitted to the U.S. as non-immigrants, including tourists, students and business travelers, rose to 15,892 in fiscal 2009, according to the statistics yearbook. That is more than a 9 percent increase over 2008.

Latvia joined the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in November 2008, meaning Latvian citizens no longer need to apply for a visa to visit America.

Of the non-immigrant admissions, 641 were students or individuals involved in other exchange programs.

According to other statistics reported in the yearbook:

• In 2009, a total of 27 children from Latvia were adopted by U.S. citizens. Of those, 11 are boys and 16 are girls. Four-fifths of the children were age 5 or older.
• A total of 404 persons born in Latvia became naturalized U.S. citizens in 2009, a decline from the 455 reported in 2008.
• Three persons from Latvia last year were granted asylum in the U.S.
• A total of 27 persons from Latvia were removed from the U.S. in 2009, three of them for criminal convictions.

DHS reports immigration statistics throughout the year, but prepares the yearbook for release in August, according to the department’s website, www.dhs.gov.

Any Latvian citizen abroad who wants an absentee ballot to vote in the Oct. 2 parliamentary election has two weeks left to submit their application and passport to one of 24 embassies or consular offices around the world.

Application materials must be received by Sept. 10, whether in person or by mail, according to the Central Election Commission in Rīga. In case of mail submissions, passports will be mailed back to applicants.

The one-page application form, in Latvian, may download from the election commission’s website as either a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF file.

Along with the application form, one’s Latvian passport must be submitted to the embassy or consular office. Once both are received, according to the election commission, the voter will be registered and the voter’s passport will be stamped to indicate particpation in the election. The voter also will receive a document certifying their registration.

Ballots, which include the candidate lists for all 13 political parties running in the election, will be sent to absentee voters between Sept. 10-17. Voters must pick just one list for which to vote, although they may promote or demote specific candidates on the list.

Voters abroad will cast ballots for candidates in the Rīga election district. The Rīga district is one of five election districts in Latvia, the other four being Kurzeme, Latgale, Vidzeme and Zemgale.

The completed absentee ballot must be returned to the local election commission that provided the ballot. Absentee ballots must be received by the local election commission by 8 p.m. Oct. 2 local time.

A total of 24 embassies and consular offices are accepting requests for absentee ballots. A list of addresses and hours is available from the Central Election Commission’s website, www.cvk.lv.

Voters abroad also will be able to vote in person at one of 64 polling stations that will operate outside of Latvia on Oct. 2.

A 17-year-old javelin athlete from Smiltene, Latvia, has won a bronze medal in the the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) underway in Singapore.

Intars Išējevs took third place overall in the Aug. 22 final of the event, held at Singapore’s Bishan Stadium, according to results posted on the official website of the Youth Olympic Games, www.singapore2010.sg.

His farthest throw, which was also a personal best, was 74.23 meters.

The gold medal in the javelin event went to Braian Toledo of Argentina, whose best throw was 81.78 meters, while the silver medal went to Devin Bogert of the U.S., who threw for 76.88 meters.

This summer’s Youth Olympic Games are the first ever. The International Olympic Committee in 2007 authorized the games “to inspire young people around the world to participate in sport and adopt and live by the Olympic values,” according to www.singapore2010.sg. The YOG are for athletes ages 14-18. An estimated 3,600 athletes from around the world are participating in the Singapore games, which began Aug. 14 and conclude Aug. 26.

Išējevs is one of 11 Latvian athletes participating in the games. Besides the javelin event, Latvian athletes are competing in cycling, the modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, swimming and weightlifting.

Elza Gulbe, 17, placed fourth overall in junior women’s single sculls rowing. The Aug. 18 final took place in the Marina Reservoir. Gulbe finished the 1,000-meter course in a time of 3:45.60. The gold medal in the event went to Judith Sievers of Germany, who finished with a time of 3:44.21.

Sindija Roga, 16, finished 19th overall in the girls’ combined running and shooting event, part of the modern pentathlon. The finals of the event took place Aug. 21 at the Singapore Sports School.

Artjoms Žerebkovs, 16, placed fourth overall in the 56-kilogram weightlifting event, which took place Aug. 15 in the Toa Payoh Sports Hall. He scored 122 in the snatch and 128 in the clean and jerk, for a total score of 226.

Latvian cyclists finished 18th overall in the combined mixed team event.

According to Singapore YOG rules, each national cycling team has three men and one woman. The Latvian team consisted of 18-year-old men Aleksandrs Kurbatskis, Kristers Taims and Andris Vosekalns, as well as 17-year-old woman Lija Laizāne. The combined event includes seven competitions. One man from each team must compete in the mountain bike, time trial and BMX races, while the woman competes in all three. Finally, all three men compete in the mass-start road race.

Vosekalns had the best result of the Latvian men in the road race, finishing 48th—on foot—after a tire on his bicycle came off, according to a report posted on the Latvian Olympic Commitee’s website, olimpiade.lv